Java Threads, 3rd Edition

Chapter 2. Thread Creation and Management

In this chapter, we cover all the basics about threads: what a thread is, how threads are created, and some details about the lifecycle of a thread. If you’re new to threading, this chapter gives you all the information you need to create some basic threads. Be aware, however, that we take some shortcuts with our examples in this chapter: it’s impossible to write a good threaded program without taking into account the data synchronization issues that we discuss in Chapter 3. This chapter gets you started on understanding how threads work; coupled with the next chapter, you’ll have the ability to start using threads in your own Java applications.

What Is a Thread?

Let’s start by discussing what a thread actually is. A thread is an application task that is executed by a host computer. The notion of a task should be familiar to you even if the terminology is not. Suppose you have a Java program to compute the factorial of a given number:

package javathreads.examples.ch02.example1;

public class Factorial {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int n = Integer.parseInt(args[0]);
        System.out.print(n + "! is ");
        int fact = 1;
        while (n > 1)
            fact *= n--;
        System.out.println(fact);
    }
}

When your computer runs this application, it executes a sequence of commands. At an abstract level, that list of commands looks like this:

• Convert args[0] to an integer.

• Store that integer in a location called n.

• Print some text.

• Store 1 in a location called fact.

• Test if ...